Exploring labor market dynamics in digital transformations: The perspective of Dutch SMEs

This study investigates the impact of digital transformation on workforce dynamics in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and explores how these impacts vary across sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and services. A thematic analysis was conducted on semistructured interviews with 31 participants, including chief executive officers, employees responsible for digital transformation, digital consultants, and technology experts, from 17 SMEs operating in the Netherlands. The findings reveal that digital technologies are adopted differently across sectors and that their impacts on the workforce vary according to the specific needs of each sector. Moreover, the success of digital transformation is shown to depend not only on technological investments but also on employee skills, managerial capacity, and sector-specific infrastructure. By developing a model that explains the relationship between digital transformation and the workforce, this study highlights that digitalization in SMEs is a multidimensional and human-centered process.